Jun 12

National Internet Safety Month: Are you #CyberSafe ? #sponsored

by mudpies

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

While we were expecting our first child 10 years ago, my husband and I spent hours discussing things like at what age they could date, wear makeup, go to the mall alone and things like that. But all those rules and ideas we came up with never touched on internet safety because the internet was still not exactly popular back then. Sure, a lot of people had emails but I was still excited about owning phones without cords. LOL! Now that we have a 10 year old, 8 year old, 2 year old and 6 month old I am amazed at how things have changed. Our 2 year old knows how to operate our iPad. At age two he can send a (gibberish) text message. It blows me away. As we saw the trend towards technology taking place we quickly realized we’d be remiss as parents if we did not set up some early parameters.

Here are some of our current rules:

1. Computers are only allowed on the main floor of our house. This ensures that we can always see the screens. And yes, my husband and I follow this rule as well.

2. USE PASSWORDS! Yes, I know they are pain, but passwords can protect your kids…and your wallet. My toddler accidentally bought an app on my mom’s phone. We have our items password protected so this cannot happen.

3. Limit screen time. Our girls spend a lot of time on the computer for home-school but at their young ages we limit their non-school screen time to no more than 30 minutes a day.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of America is doing their part to increase awareness for Cyber Safety. Since June is national Internet Safety month, they have created a fun quiz to see how Cyber Safe YOU are. You can take the quiz on their website. I am proud to say that my results were that I am a Cyber Survivor! Woo-hoo!

On their website you will also find some eye-opening videos. I encourage you to watch them. I was floored at the information shared. One of the videos I watched said that 1 in 3 teens reports being a victim of cyber bullying. It definitely go me to thinking how we can help protect our kids from this.

I would love for you to check out The Boys and Girls Clubs of America and then take their Cyber Safety quiz and share your results with me. Please leave a comment and share your tips on keeping your children Cyber Safe.

Kristen:

Kristen is a wife, mom, blogger and Brand Ambassador. She has four children; 2 boys and 2 girls. Kristen enjoys her role as a stay-at-home mother. Her oldest children are home-schooled. Her interests include gardening, coffee, reading, cooking and finding new ways to be eco-friendly. You may contact Kristen at mudpiesandtiaras at gmail dot com. Click here to meet Kristen

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Jun 6

Tips for Flying Alone with kids….BEFORE

by mudpies

15 comments

I think maybe I am bit crazy. I just agreed to fly alone…..with FOUR kids. Oh mercy. This month I will be flying alone with kids. Four of them. At the time of the flight they will be ages 10, 8, 2 and 6 months. We are flying out to see my in-laws. They have not yet met our youngest son.

Sadly my husband cannot get time off of work. They not-so-politely told him that he cannot take any of his vacation time. Grrrrrr. Since my husband was in the Army, I have learned to do things that some people are not willing to. Twice I have had friends tell me they cannot drive an hour away because they just don’t go that far by themselves. I drove 1900 round trip with 2 kids when my husband was in the Army. I moved, alone, with two kids and cat while he was in the Army. So I don’t typically let things like this hold me back. But still. An airplane. An enclosed airplane. And a toddler son and a nursing baby. Wow. Knowing that I will flying alone with kids, I reached out to others to collect their best tips. This is my list BEFORE the trip. After we return I will write another post about what really worked and what didn’t.

Ideas people shared on what to bring:

Crayons and coloring books

A tablet and bring headphones for movies

Chargers

Snacks

Story books

Teething remedies for the baby

Surprise toys/gifts

Activity books with stickers

Bring a DS player (we don’t own one but sounds nice)

Flavor sticks to add to water for free drinks

Wipes

One new toy/gift per hour of travel

Ideas people shared on surviving:

Let the younger ones walk if needed

Nurse the baby during takeoff and landing

Bribe if needed (LOL!)

Bring chewing gum or chewy candy to help the older kids ears

Invest in mommy’s helper (those backpack things with a leash attached)

Have another tip? Please leave it below!

Kristen:

Kristen is a wife, mom, blogger and Brand Ambassador. She has four children; 2 boys and 2 girls. Kristen enjoys her role as a stay-at-home mother. Her oldest children are home-schooled. Her interests include gardening, coffee, reading, cooking and finding new ways to be eco-friendly. You may contact Kristen at mudpiesandtiaras at gmail dot com. Click here to meet Kristen

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May 27

Tyson + EPIC the Movie = Eco-friendly Inspiration! #MealsTogether #Sponsored #Cbias

by mudpies

3 comments

My husband is a hard worker. He works 6 days a week at the post office and does not typically get any time off except for a few Holidays. Memorial Day is one of those Holidays. Knowing that we would get spend 2 full days with him we wanted to do something special. We asked the girls and their suggestion was to see the movie EPIC. They have a mutual friend, so we let them call and invite her as well. And off to the movies we went!

Where we live it is pretty rural. Well, in our town there are 306 people. Ha! For this movie, we decided to go to our closest theater which has exactly 2 screens. Since the show we were seeing was at 5, we needed to feed the kids before we left. Our son needed to eat before my parents came to watch him and the girls needed to eat so that they would not get ill from buttery popcorn! Tyson Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets are a great choice when you are in a time crunch. And boy was I ever! I had just returned from a trip to Charleston, SC. I was tired and there were almost no groceries in the house. Even though I was in a hurry, I did not want to give the kids junk before heading to the theater where we were going to all have treats. I threw open the freezer and almost danced with glee when I saw our bag of Tyson Chicken Nuggets. Tyson Chicken Nuggets are made with all natural ingredients and none of the yucky stuff. Plus, 5 pieces offer a very appropriate serving for kids. 5 nuggets have 14 grams of protein and 270 calories. Pair the nuggets with a salad and/or fruit and your kids are getting a fast, healthy meal.

After settling on the 5 movie we loaded up the girls!

They were excited and asked if they could pose as “crazy slugs”. I’m a blogger…of course I said yes.

The movie was awesome! The best part was the “I hurt my elbow” scene. We are still cracking jokes about that one! In my opinion, the movie combined the imagination of a movie like Harry Potter but with the family friendliness of a movie like The Lorax. It had stunning animation, great characters, funny lines and a good message as well. Hands down, our favorite character across the board was Mub. Afterwards, I asked the girls for their opinion and the agreed, “two thumbs up”!

After seeing EPIC and being reminded of the importance of caring for our environment, we decided to make some DIY Weed Killer. We were going to buy some weed killer, but the movie prompted us to look for a natural version. Not only was this cheaper, it is also safer.

To make your own fill a pot with water, add 1-2 cups of distilled vinegar (you want to be able to smell it) and 6 drops of dish detergent. Then pour over the weeds you want gone. I LOVE that it is non-toxic, safe for groundwater and safe for our kids to use.

Our kids are notorious for running around barefoot. I can rest easy knowing this weed killer is safe for their bare feet.

What about you? Have you seen EPIC?

Comment below and share your tips on how you eat healthy when you are in a time crunch.

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May 19

DIY Slug Snacks for Kids!

by mudpies

6 comments

Slug snacks. Yep. I made slug snacks with my kids. I know, I know. It certainly is not your normal rainy day activity but we did it anyways! It is super fun and you probably have all the slug ingredients on hand.

I bought some green Jello and made it the night before so that it was good and set. You can easily make slug snacks for kids without the Jello and just serve them on a plate.

Then you peel and slice one banana lengthwise. And place it on the Jello, flat side down.

Next, you add pretzel antenna’s.

Let your kids decorate their slug with food coloring (buy all natural food coloring to make it healthier).

Your kids cannot ruin it! They will love eating it and love making slugs! Do it for the start of your garden season, for a rainy day activity or just for some fun with your kiddos.

The food coloring drips around the bananas and looks like slug slime! Kids of all ages will love this and you will love their smiles.

Will you make slugs snacks for your kids?

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May 8

Save your applesauce! #Momtips

by mudpies

7 comments

My husband and I try to be pretty frugal/green. We have rain barrels, compost, use cloth diapers on the boys and generally look for ways to save money and resources. Which is why when our peanut butter is empty, we take a spatula and scrape the inside to make sure we got it all. Then it either goes into recycling or we wash it and my husband uses it to store nails or screws. We like to save whenever we can. After multiple messes trying to salvage the last of our applesauce I came up with a foolproof way of getting it all out (without any mess).

You can tell there is a serving of applesauce lingering but when you attempt to pour it, it just sticks to the sides of the jar. Scraping it out with a spatula is messy.

Just turn it upside down into a bowl. No effort required, just let gravity do its work.

After about 5-10 minutes go check on it and it should be done. See how clean and empty the jar is? No more applesauce in the bottom or stuck to the sides.

Now, either serve it, or put a lid on and save it for later. Simple. Easy. Save you some money too. Love it!

What simple mom tips do you have?

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